Counterstrike
by Duckman36
Summary: On May 13th, 1995, Ustio is finally liberated from the Principality of Belka. With help from the Allied Forces, they quickly continue the offensive onto Belkan soil, with the 6th Air Division spearheading the assault. But as the war draws on, questions arise over the true cause of the war, and Cipher and Foulke have to choose where their allegiance lies... (Ace Combat Zero)
1. Bastion

**Back again to continue the Ace Combat story :) This one continues where Ace Combat: Liberation left off. Hope you like it! As with all my fanfics, I'd like to hear what you think! :)**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Ace Combat, just a copy of the game**

* * *

_On May13th, 1995…" Brett Thompson reported as the camera panned over several views of the war-torn capital with Allied aircraft flying top cover for tanks and infantry. "Ustio was finally liberated. The tide of war was about to change dramatically."_

_"The true nature of the war begins from this point forwards." Thompson's voice was played over the sounds of cheering coming from the clips of the Ustio capital after the attack. "Accounts vary depending on the article and source. Everyone is a hero, and a villain. And no-one knows who is the victor, and who is the aggressor. And what is peace? All questions commonly asked about any war in history. As the battlegrounds move to Belka, _he _is_ _also thrust into the middle of this war."_

_The image changed, and now it showed a map of how territory changed hands as Ustio was liberated._

_"This is where my interests also shift, from the war to him."_

It was night by the time the two exhausted mercenaries, Cipher and Foulke, landed their iconic F-15C Eagle fighters at Valais Airbase, a small Ustio Air Force base situated deep in the mountain range to the south of the nation. As soon as the cockpit opened on the blue-winged fighter that Cipher occupied, ground crew dragged the unlikely hero out of his seat and cheered him and his wingman. The two mercenaries who had brought a country doomed to Belkan hegemony back from the brink and played a major part in the liberation were treated like heroes. Even the survivors of Hunter Squadron, the A-10 pilots who conducted insane suicidal attack runs at Belkan vehicles in support of the ground forces cheered and praised the pilots who grinned and wearily stumbled towards the debriefing room with the pilots involved in the mission, where a Lieutenant General waited to congratulate them all.

"Belka's Ustio-branch headquarters has fallen. Ustio has been liberated." His loud, deep voice was enough to keep the two mercenaries awake. He turned around to pick up a large green glass bottle from the table behind him. "I just received a vintage bottle of Chateau Boloise for the Galm Team. It's a hard-to-find cabernet. Perfect, I'd say, for celebrating an occasion such as this."

Both Cipher and Foulke stood to accept the gift from the base intelligence officer whilst the room clapped. "Drinks are on us!" Foulke whooped, which attracted more cheers from the room.

That night, nobody slept. The entire base, save for the security personnel who were busy manning gates, radar and AA defences, were in the bar, drinking and partying to their heart's desire. Cipher was content to sit in a corner table away from the main activity and sip at a large glass of the red wine given to the mercenary team. He'd made sure to bag some first before his wingman offered it out to everyone else. Every now and again, someone would come up and congratulate his efforts and request that he join in with the drunken dancing. He'd thank them and politely decline the offer.

Somebody cleared their throat. Cipher looked up from his solitaire game and saw Crow Team's number One standing by the empty seat. "Do you mind if I…" The man gestured to the seat.

"Not at all." Cipher shuffled the pack of cards into one deck and placed it neatly on the table. "Wine?" He picked up the almost empty bottle.

"Beer." Crow One raised his own glass. "Can't beat a bit of the old beer."

"All the more for me." Cipher refilled his half-empty glass. Both men laughed.

Crow One picked up the cards and swiftly dealt seven cards to them both. "Ever played a bit of Blackjack?"

"A bit, but I'm not the greatest player in the world." Cipher looked at his hand and arranged the cards. "I never actually got your name…"

"Jack Ryan." Ryan placed a three of diamonds on the table next to the deck. "And yours?"

"Cipher." The mercenary played his turn with a diamond. A two.

"I know that." Ryan picked up two cards. "I mean your real name."

Cipher put down a king of diamonds and sipped his wine. "I have never used my real name for as long as I can remember."

"So why Cipher?" A black king was played.

Cipher thought hard. "It was a mercenary name I used in the past." He replied. He played a black jack and grinned as Ryan's face fell. "It just stuck."

Cipher's grin faded as the other mercenary also played a black jack, turning Cipher's attack against him. "That's fair enough." Ryan said.

"So how did you get with the other two?" Cipher referred to the other Crow Team members as he picked up ten cards.

"It's a long story." Ryan picked a card from the deck.

"We've got a long time." Cipher looked at his cards and played a five-card streak.

Ryan whistled at Cipher's move. "Well it was a while ago, about 1990 I think." He placed a seven of clubs. "Two was in his final year of university, and Three was about to finish High School."

Cipher placed a card as he listened, to which Ryan placed another.

"We met during an airshow one year in San Salvacion." Ryan continued. "We got on well, and decided to do the same the next year. And the next."

A few more turns were played, until both men were down to three cards each.

"By the time Three graduated from High School a year later, Two had finished his degree in aerospace engineering. We joined a flying club, got scouted by the ISAF Air Force and joined, flying the F-16." Ryan drank a bit more of his beer. "We decided that flying patrols day after day was a tad boring, so we took off in search of our own work."

"The aircraft…?" Cipher asked.

Ryan swallowed another sip of beer. "We…permanently borrowed them from the ISAF Air Force." He admitted. "We're not all 'law-abiding' by any measure."

"Neither am I, my Eagle used to belong to the Yuktobanian Air Force." Cipher said.

Both men laughed.

Ryan played a six of clubs, to which Cipher countered with a seven and eight of the same suit and topped it off with the ace of spades.

Ryan tossed his hand face up on the table. "Looks like I'm beaten." He downed the last few dregs of his drink and stood. "It was nice talking to you…Cipher." He smiled and walked away.

Cipher looked down, the ace of spades staring back at him. Was he Ustio's ace of spades? He shook the thought out of his head, shuffled the deck and finished his wine before disappearing to his room. He barely had time to shower and get into bed before tiredness overtook him and he fell into a deep sleep.

Routine began again the next day. Up at seven for an eight o'clock breakfast in the mess before a morning brief. There was nothing on for the Galm Team until later, so Cipher and Galm headed to their hanger where their planes were waiting for their daily check for wear and tear.

"So how much have you earned?" Foulke spoke over from his fighter, parked behind Cipher's. Due to heavy snow, they had moved inside sheltering from the precipitation.

"Overall?" Cipher called back, not looking up from his work in the cockpit. It was cold enough in the hanger with the doors open to see his breath swirl like flames from a dragon's mouth, but a lot warmer than being pelted by wind and snow.

"Yeah."

"About ¥20,000" Cipher mentally counted. He heard Foulke whistle. "What about you?"

"Much the same." Foulke said. "Really rolling in the cash now eh?"

Cipher laughed. "How much were those fighters we were talking about?"

Cipher heard a spanner fall to the ground and a thump as Foulke dropped from the wing of his jet and walked towards the small office the mercenaries had found the other day, built onto the side of the hanger. "I'll take a look."

Looking through his deactivated HUD, Cipher watched the Crow Team across the taxiway as they worked on their own aircraft. He could hear them laughing and the sound of classic Osean rock music reached his ears.

"Foulke, why don't we have a radio?" He called through to the office.

"Dunno." Foulke replied. "I could try and get my hands on one if you like?" He came back holding an old looking notebook.

"What's that?" Cipher questioned.

"It's a notebook." Foulke replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he flicked through it. "I have some contacts in some other air forces in case I needed a new ride...ah! You can get your hands on a second-hand Gripen from the Royal Emmerian Air Force for fifteen thousand Emmerian dollars, which is about...seventeen and a half thousand Ustio zollars."

"Gripens are old..." Cipher muttered.

"Still quite a versatile jet though, Better I'd say than a standard Eagle." Said Foulke. "That's the cheapest deal I can get. Erm...there's a few Sukhoi aircraft going from the Erusians for..." His face screwed up in concentration as he worked out the exchange rates. "Twenty six thousand zollars."

"I'm not a huge fan of MiGs or Sukhois." Cipher climbed out of his cockpit and shivered. "Where can I get a brand new jet from? I don't trust second-hand aircraft."

"You'd be looking at prices of at least a couple of hundred thousand zollars." Foulke replied. "For the top end jets, that is." He followed Cipher into the office where the flight lead pulled out a list of jets currently operational around Strangereal.

"Apparently I can get a MiG-21bis for ¥8,500." Cipher grinned.

"Phantoms are only ¥14,000." Foulke referred back to his notebook.

"Not a bad aircraft." Cipher said. "It can carry loads, but it's not as manoeuvrable as I'd like."

"I know what you mean." Foulke dropped the book in a drawer. "It's early days yet; we may still earn enough to get us something good."

Cipher slumped into a battered leather office chair. "What are you planning on doing after the war?" He asked his wingman who was leaning against the doorframe.

"I'm not sure." The Belkan replied. "I've always relied on there being a war somewhere to offer my services. I guess I'll see what pops up. You?"

"Same here." Cipher said. "Y'know, this is the only time in my mercenary years that I've not been part of a much larger flight. I always got teamed up with six or eight others. But never just one."

"I know the feeling." Foulke nodded. "How long have you been a mercenary for?"

"About eleven years." He replied. "My first assignment was with Yuktobania which wasn't the best."

"And your second?"

"I'll tell you when it's over." Cipher grinned. "But so far? Not bad at all."

Three days later, the call came through for Galm, Hunter and a new A-10 squadron known as Altir to meet in the briefing room. The intelligence officer's happiness had shed off, and he looked worried. When he began, Cipher understood why.

"Intelligence has reported that Belka is developing nuclear arms and V2, a weapon of mass destruction." He began. All the jokes and laughter from the Ustio pilots stopped. The lightness in the air was replaced with heavy tension, as the sudden reality that there was still a war going on hit them. "The Allied Forces' top brass has decided to send troops across the Hydrian Line into Belka to check for nuclear arms and secure resource interests."

The map on the screen zoomed in on a section of Belka. It was a hilly area, with deep valleys and steep drops. "Centred on the ruins of Glatisant, the Hydrian Line, Belka's long line of defence, stretches seven hundred kilometres from Osea's southern border to the border of Sapin. Situated on the peak of Mount Ivrea, the ruins of Glatisant have been transformed into a modern base, with anti-aircraft artillery and a powerful defence system. The Galm Team's mission, along with Allied Air Forces, is to launch an aerial strike on Glatisant, opening the door for our ground troops."

Cipher saw the size of the base, and wondered how he was going to cover the entire base.

"In all probability, this will be an extended operation." The Officer stated the obvious. "You will be able to refuel during the latter half of the mission. If you're low on fuel or weapons, temporarily withdraw from the battle and return to base. Good luck."

Everyone turned to leave. Cipher turned to Foulke and asked "What's Glatisant?"

"It used to be a castle back in the medieval times, when Belka was a nation ruled by great knights." Foulke answered. "After the tradition was lost, the castle fell into disuse and was ruined by weathering and the odd earthquake."

Cipher nodded to his ground crew and began to issue requests for bombs, as did Foulke. Once the planes were armed and the pilots were happy, they began to taxi. They were the last to take off, joining the sixteen attackers in the greying sky.

"Nuclear inspection, huh?" Foulke muttered once the pack of Allied aircraft had entered the combat airspace. "What a joke!"

The Ustio aircraft had been joined by a similar sized force from the Allied Forces. The aerial strike force now numbered twenty five aircraft of varying types. The Hydrian Line was more uneven than Cipher had imagined, the valleys were deep and stepped. The mountains were tall and steep. The landscape was dotted with dark greens and greys, and the lashing rain wasn't helping the impression.

"It's hell out here…above and below!" An Ustio pilot commented.

"Begin operation." Eagle Eye said. "Attack Glatisant and open up a path for our ground forces."

Two A-10 attackers from a Yuktobanian squadron painted in a green and black camouflage broke away and dived to investigate what probably used to be a tiny village on the mountainside. A flare popped up above the medieval settlement and AA weapons opened up, catching the foreign jets by surprise.

"Break!" The aircraft split to avoid SAM fire, but both were hit and fell to the ground.

Two more began their attack run, Ustio origin this time, and fired long range missiles instead at the Surface to Air missile launchers.

"They're here!" a Belkan officer shouted down the radio. "Commence firing!"

The SAM units were quickly disposed of by the Ustio jets from Hunter. Cipher spied a set of four tunnels in the mountainside and informed the attackers.

"Roger we see 'em." The Osean attackers replied. "We're beginning our attack run." A set of four attackers broke away and went to attack. The first wave of missiles streaked from the formation but proved ineffective.

"Fire a missile into the hole!" One of the Ustio A-10 pilots attacking the AA defences in the settlement advised as the Osean jets as they came in for a second attempt.

"There's Area Gate." Foulke said. "Sector E."

Cipher looked, and saw a small kite-shaped castle atop the mountain they were attacking. His HUD and radar picked up anti-aircraft guns on top of the four turrets.

"Galm Two, lets wake them up and draw their attention away from the attackers." Cipher engaged his afterburners and dived towards the castle with Foulke close behind. They screamed over the Belkan fortress and banked as the AA guns opened up.

"Hunter, now!" Cipher ordered as he evaded the bullets. He watched as Hunter's A-10's returned fire with their 30mm guns and made light work of the guns. Cipher saw miniature explosions inside the building as the excess ammunition went off.

"This is Area Gate, a fire's broken out inside!" A Belkan commander informed.

"Well done, Sector E has been taken care of." Eagle Eye said. "Now take the other sectors!"

Cipher looked to his clear thigh pocket where he had placed his map. Five sectors had been identified, one in each corner and one big one in the centre. Each squadron had their own objectives and they split, going their separate ways.

"We'll go to Sector C." He told Foulke. "Let's follow Hunter."

"Copy that." His wingman formed back up on the mercenary's wing. Hunter Squadron's eight A-10's were flying low, following the deep valley that lead them to their target. "Dam I'd pay to be in their position."

"How much are you offering?" A member of the Ustio attacker squadron joked.

"Heads up, another settlement." The squadron navigated an S bend and came to the valley's end. Cipher's HUD picked out a few AA weapons below, but it was the main sector that caught his attention.

Sector C was obviously based on the main castle of Glatisant. Walls and towers dotted the mountain's summit but Cipher's vision was locked on to the massive cylindrical stone tower in the centre. According to his radar, it was filled with AA guns.

"Uh-oh." He said quietly.

"That's one way to put it!" Foulke agreed. The two Eagles of Galm Team split apart as countless guns opened up and spewed bullets in their direction.

"It looks like an ocean of bullets coming at us!" Cipher exclaimed as he pulled a wide, shallow bank around the mountaintop, the inexperienced AA gunners unable to hit him with their weapons.

"Then we'll have to just sail through them!" Foulke replied. Cipher looked around and saw his wingman's red wing on the other side of the summit. "I'll draw the enemy's fire so you can get a clear shot!"

Foulke banked harder and swooped in low and at near supersonic speeds. As predicted, the AA defences tried to hit the famous mercenary whilst Cipher and Hunter Four both flew in and loosened bombs at the massive structure. The explosion threw dust, stone and dirt into the air, thwarting any attempts from the Belkan AA weapons to lock on to them.

"That's half of it done." Cipher said as he looked back.

Almost all of one side of the tower had collapsed into a pile of rubble, leaving the other standing. The AA guns though, had been silenced as members hurriedly evacuated the structure, least it collapse.

"Good work!" Hunter One praised. "Now let's finish off the resistance in Sector C!"

"I thought you'd never ask!" Hunter Four, the only female pilot, replied.

"Galm One to Hunter One, we'll give you some air cover." Cipher offered.

"Roger, keep the skies clear for us." Hunter replied.

With Foulke on his wing, Cipher loitered around the hill.

"Visual identification in this weather is almost impossible." Foulke muttered. "Guess we'll just have to rely on good ol' radar and IFF."

Cipher looked out into the greyness around him. "Nothing to see out here anyway." he replied and looked down at his radar. "I've got two pairs of possible bogies on radar."

"I've got them too, they're keeping their distance."

"I guess they don't want to bail out in this weather." Cipher laughed. "How's it going Hunter One?"

"It's...interesting." The Ustio veteran replied. "The Belkans are being sneaky and not firing until we're not looking. We can't pinpoint their locations to get a good shot with cannons. But we're winning...slowly."

"Galm Two to Galm One, it looks like one of the pairs are taking their chances." Foulke advised. "Ten o'clock high."

"Copy that." Cipher turned and Foulke kept on his wing as if he was held there by an iron bar. "You are cleared to engage, five miles remaining."

"Solid copy Galm One, Galm Two engaging the one on the left."

The two fighters appeared on Cipher's HUD before he could spot them himself. "MiGs" he muttered into his oxygen mask as he increased his airspeed and climbed to meet his challenger. The Belkan patrol split, so the mercenaries followed their respective targets. He banked hard right to follow the Belkan as he pulled a U-shaped turn and tried to shake the F-15 Cipher flew.

A sidewinder locked onto the heat from the exhaust pipes of the MiG-29. With a call of "Fox two!" Cipher launched the projectile and shot down his first enemy aircraft of the day.

"Splash one, he was a rookie." Cipher reported. "Talk to me Foulke."

"I've got this one."

Another white parachute joined the first, slowly drifting into the mountain range.

"I wonder if they'll get picked up?" Foulke wondered.

"Radio signal here is stronger than in the Round Table." Cipher reminded. "I'm sure a chopper will be over when we're gone."

The two jets reformed and continued their patrol, circling like raptors over their territory.

"Hey, Galm One…no hands!" Foulke played with the trim and placed his gloved hands on his canopy, his fighter staying obediently in the bank. The flight lead grinned and shook his head slightly in amusement.

"What's the position of that second pair of bogies?" He asked, scanning the skies for anything and relying on his wingman to check the radar.

"Keeping their distance." Foulke replied. "Guess they don't want to try their luck."

"Get away from that tent!"

"I can't hit them, they're too fast!"

"Keep firing!"

Cipher switched to the intercepted comms and listened as Hunter wreaked havoc below.

"Where's our air support?"

"This is Eagle Three, they've got those dammed mercenaries flying top cover!"

"Dammed mercenaries…"

The mercenary flight lead chuckled to himself.

"This is Galm Two, we've got a third pair joining the second." Foulke warned. "They're coming in from the east."

"Understood, keep me posted."

"Wilco."

"Hunter Four break right!" Someone yelled. Cipher looked rapidly at the battle below and spotted a white trail of smoke and an explosion of flares from Hunter Four.

"Don't die, you still owe me money from poker." Hunter Seven deadpanned.

Cipher had to laugh at that one. Even in the face of danger, the Ustio A-10 squadron still maintained a light-hearted approach to things.

"Galm Two here, the Belkan fighters are approaching from the east and the north." Foulke informed.

"Roger, break and engage the east pair. I'll take the northern group."

Foulke tightened his circular path to bank around in a U turn while Cipher continued at the angle he was in, increasing thrust. If the Belkans wanted to split them up, so be it, but the job wasn't any easier for them.

As Cipher came out of his bank, he spied the three jets at his twelve high. Switching to his AMRAAMs caused his HUD to identify and lock on to both targets and he resisted the urge to fire. He did a quick mental calculation and figured the missiles would miss. With a sigh, he switched back to sidewinders.

The opposing MiG-29 Fulcrums split and went opposite directions. Cipher growled in annoyance and took the one which had banked off to his right. He applied afterburners to quickly close the gap between them and engage, keeping an eye on his radar to check the positions of his prey's friends.

The beeping of his radar turned into a drone as his sidewinder locked on. He fired and the missile quickly dispatched of his target with little trouble. Cipher pulled a hard turn to his left, scanning the skies for the other two Belkan aircraft. His eyes picked out one coming below him at his seven low, but couldn't locate the other. He glanced at his radar.

"Hunter, heads up." He warned. "One's got past me."

"Roger that, I see 'em." Hunter One replied. "Hunter Three, check your six!"

"Where the hell did he come from?!"

Cipher would've gone to help, but he had a more important issue to deal with, the Belkan attempting to get on his tail. He snapped his Eagle into a quick roll and pulled hard on the control stick to swing his jet around, popping flares in the process to evade the missile fired at him.

"Jesus Christ..." He heard the Belkan swear. "That's some crazy manoeuvring!"

Cipher saw that the MiG couldn't match the agility of his modified fighter. He was easily able to twist around onto the enemy's tail and shoot him down with gunfire.

"Splash two, Galm Two give me a sitrep." He pointed his aircraft in the direction of Hunter and sped to aid them.

"Splash three, I'm headed to the guy who got past you."

"Solid copy."

Cipher came to the mountaintop where upon he instantly began to engage the sneaky Belkan pilot attempting to take Hunter Three. The A-10 pilot was doing all he could to keep the MiG from claiming him as a kill, sliding his attacker through spaces between castle turrets, low over walls and with sharp turns.

"Hunter Three, come right, help me engage..." Cipher ordered. The A-10 complied and the mercenary saw his chance. A sidewinder later and the fighter tumbled the short distance to the rocky floor. A few seconds later, Foulke soared overhead.

"Forty percent of enemy forces are under our control, it's time to rock and roll!" Eagle Eye. "All aircraft, eliminate Glatisant!"

"Galm Two, I'm getting close to bingo fuel." Cipher reported, looking at his fuel guage. "How's you?"

Foulke was back on his wing. "I'm in the same situation."

"Eagle Eye, this is Galm Team. Permission to RTB to refuel and rearm?" Cipher asked the AWACS orbiting above the combat airspace.

"Roger that, you are cleared to RTB. See you boys later."

The two mercenaries turned towards the border and cruised all the way back to Valais, where upon the ground crew rapidly refuelled the two Eagles and had them back in the air within fifteen minutes of landing. By the time they returned to the Hydrian Line, the battle was almost over.

"Eagle Eye, this is Galm Team." Cipher reported in once they entered the combat airspace. "We're back, miss us?"

"Welcome back Galm Team." The AWACS humorously replied. "Sectors A, C and E have been taken care of, head to Sector D to provide cover for Hunter."

"They've opened up a supply route; they're flying in and out like crazy!" A Belkan officer exclaimed

"Wilco." Cipher turned his fighter westwards and flew at 10,000 feet to where the Ustio attackers repeatedly harassed two massive stone towers on the small castle they found there. By the looks of things, their job here was almost done. It took little effort for the mercenary ace team to finish off what little fighters were left.

"Glatisant's attack powers have been neutralised!" Eagle Eye whooped. "Mission complete, all aircraft return to base."

Cipher and Foulke turned back towards Ustio, sliding into Hunter Squadron's five o'clock high.

"Hmm, did something just flash?"

Cipher peered round at his wingman. "Uh, that's a negative Galm Two, perhaps just a glint off your canopy?"

"I'm not sure; I think I saw a blue flash…probably nothing." Foulke sighed.

Hunter was trading jokes and comments with the other attacker squadrons from Osea and Yuktobania about the counterstrike. The Allied Forces had successfully pushed Belka onto the defensive, the tides had turned. The Ustio pilots were eager, and morale was high. Now was the perfect time for the Allied Forces to go on the offensive.

Cipher smiled behind his mask. Things were going to get rough.

The briefing room was alive with chatter before the Lieutenant General was able to silence them. "The operation was a success, Glatisant has fallen." He opened the debrief with what the pilots called a BFO, a Blinding Flash of Obvious. "The Allied Forces have broken through the Hydrian Line, bringing the battle to Belka."

His tone grew more serious. "I must inform you, however, that while you were on your mission, we received a report that the squadron attacking from Ustio's border was wiped out by a mysterious attack. We are currently investigating this incident."

Cipher glanced at his wingman as they left the briefing room, who gave him an _I told you so _look. He just rolled his eyes and headed to the mess along with the rest of the pilots. It was time for dinner, and the mission had made Cipher hungry.


	2. Merlon

The next operation came just two days later. In order to keep pressing their advantage, the Allied Forces were trying to hit the Belkans hard and fast, before they could regroup and set up a proper defence line. In those forty eight hours, Cipher had pondered a question, a question asked by his wingman the night following the attack on the Hydrian Line.

"_Would you rather be hated, feared or respected?" Foulke asked while sitting at Cipher's desk, studying drawings in his flight lead's notebook._

_Cipher looked over from where he lay on the bed, still in his flight suit. "That's a tricky one," he replied after a moment of silence. "What about you?"_

_Foulke placed the black notepad down. "Respected." He answered his own question. "With great respect comes trust."_

_A pause. "Do you trust me?" Cipher peered at his wingman with his ice blue eyes._

"_Buddy," Foulke grinned. "I've not doubted you for a second."_

Cipher sat at the back while the selected squadrons filtered into their rows in the briefing room, chatting. Foulke came and sat by him.

"Morning."

Cipher returned the greeting. "I have an answer to your question."

Foulke raised an eyebrow. But before Cipher could give his answer, the Intelligence Officer entered and hushed the room. Then the familiar red briefing screen appeared on the wall behind him and began to zoom in on a section of Belka as he spoke in his booming voice.

"Belka's second line of defence stretches across the Schayne Plains in the central region of southern Belka." He informed the pilots as the flight leads wrote down important information. "Centred on two anti-aircraft camps, this line blocks our refuelling unit's air route, and is already delaying our military plans. This operation will consist of attacks on enemy ground troops and engagements with enemy fighters."

As if on cue, the screen singled out three separate combat airspaces. "There will be three squadrons in total. Galm, Team, you can decide which one to accompany. Alpha Team will be responsible for destroying enemy ground ordnance."

Hunter One nodded. That was his.

"Beta Team's job will be to eliminate air resistance, and destroying enemy ground ordnance,"

John Henderson looked over at Lancer's flight lead. Beta was theirs.

"Theta Team will eliminate air resistance."

Cipher nudged Foulke, who nodded in silent reply. Theta was theirs.

"Escort Allied transport craft after each mission is completed." The Lieutenant General finished. "You will commence in air refuelling just on the edge of the combat airspace before you begin the missions, so don't worry about drop tanks. That is all."

Cipher and Foulke walked out into the clear day to where their F-15 Eagles had been towed out. Ground crew ran about dragging refuelling pumps and hoses while others directed weapons trolleys to particular aircraft. They headed over and aided their technicians load the Eagles with air to air missiles – four AMRAAMs and six sidewinders as per usual. They both quickly performed the pre-flight checks and taxied to the single runway. Cipher kicked the afterburners on and drew looks from everyone who could get to a window to see the famous mercenaries. They were the last ones to take off, being involved in the last mission in the operation.

"What was your answer to my question?" Foulke suddenly broke the silence after a few hours of silent flying.

"I would be feared." Cipher replied. "Fear brings respect for my abilities, and hatred due to the fear. Being feared would lead to all of the options."

"And do you feel feared."

Cipher glanced at his radar and spied out the refuelling plane, turning smoothly towards it. "By some." He opened the channel between him and the tanker. "This is Galm Team."

"Galm Team this is Juicebox." Cipher grinned at the choice of callsign given to the KC-135. "Can I take your order please?"

"I'll have a fill of the daily special." The mercenary continued the banter between them. As he came close and the refuelling probe extended itself to replenish his fuel, he noticed an acronym painted in bold black letters on the rear of the aircraft. NKAWTG. Cipher's grin widened as he took it in.

Nobody Kicks Ass Without Tanker Gas.

Both mercenaries took their turn at filling up the tanks. They then broke away and joined with an Osean Air Force F-14A squadron who identified themselves as Joker Squadron. The two Eagles hovered in the five o'clock high position of the six plane Tomcat diagonal line left.

"Hey Cipher, you read me?" Foulke sounded awestruck. "Just look at the view! There's not much difference between these countries from up here!"

Cipher took a moment to admire the view fully. He was at least ten thousand feet up, and had an amazing view of South Belka and it's rolling plains. He spied a lone river snaking across the landscape. Greens and yellows blended into each other, and the odd road cut though the land, twisting and turning with the hills.

"It's a beautiful country, I don't get why they had to go and start up a war." Cipher agreed.

"Joker pilots, check your planes." Joker One ordered. "I don't want any complaining once we begin combat." Cipher guessed the pilots and weapon systems officers were rookies to combat, apart from the flight lead. He made a mental note to look out for them and turned back to the situation at hand.

"So that's the Galm Team, it's an interesting formation." An Osean pilot commented.

"Let's watch how they fly!" Another spoke.

"Galm Team, you are cleared to engage." AWACS Eagle Eye said.

"Roger that." Cipher's radar picked out several Belkan flights of fighters, patrolling in flights of four. He broke from the formation with Foulke just below his wing and turned to face an incoming flight. "Galm Two, engage at will."

"Let's see how they like this one." Foulke increased speed and pulled slightly ahead of Cipher. "Fox Three!"

Two AMRAAMs from Foulke's loadout homed in on two unfortunate F/A-18 Hornets of the defending Belkan Air Force, both of which exploded in flames and pummelled to the ground.

The other two fired their own missiles at the mercenaries, but the 66th Air Force Unit was too fast for them, splitting apart and tightly twisting onto their tails. The resulting engagements lasted no longer than ten seconds before both jets were spinning to the ground, smoke pouring from open wounds. No sooner than they had levelled out, they were popping flares and straining against a rush of g-forces to evade more Belkan missiles directed at them. Four more Hornets dived from the skies to sting their enemies, but the birds of prey proved to be more than a match for the Belkans. Cipher found himself chasing down a dark grey F/A-18 in a high speed pursuit of rolls and loops while jinking to avoid the occasional burst of gunfire from the guy behind in his six. It was weird being on the offensive while defending.

"Guns guns guns." Cipher's cannon came to life and spat orange projectiles at the fleeing Belkan. The wing was torn to pieces and the ace had to violently snap away before the fragment of the F/A-18 collided with him. His chaser however, wasn't as lucky and was forcefully ejected from his aircraft as the wing was eaten up by his intakes and the fuel ignited.

"Sierra Hotel!" Foulke exclaimed. He had successfully shot down both of his targets with well-timed missile shots.

"Joker Squadron, give me a sitrep." Cipher asked.

"We've dealt with the patrols to the east of the combat airspace." Joker One replied. "We've lost Joker Three to enemy resistance."

"Copy that, we'll take the west." Cipher replied.

"There may be no need; the northern and western groups are turning towards us." Foulke informed.

The flight lead looked down. Sure enough, twelve fighters were headed their way in three groups of four. He frowned.

"Something's not right; the Belkans should be able to send out more fighters than this?"

"Drossel One to all Drossel units, engage those mercenaries!" The Belkan flight lead ordered.

"Joker, can you spare us a jet or two?" Cipher asked. Twelve Belkan fighters wasn't much of an issue, he and his wingman had shown that they could cope being outnumbered and outgunned through pure flying skill. But experience had shown that quantity could often overcome quality.

"Umm...Joker Five and Six go and help the Galm Team." Joker One rearranged his team. Two clicks were heard on the mike and within minutes, two Osean F-14A Tomcats were formed up on Cipher's right wing.

"First group three o'clock." Foulke reported. Cipher had given up looking at his radar, trusting Foulke to keep him informed. "Ten miles."

"I'm spiked! Evasive manoeuvres!" Joker Six pulled up sharply and broke away. A few seconds later, Cipher saw the white smoke trail of an AMRAAM fired from the enemy.

"Joker Five, join with Joker Six and take the three o'clock group. Galm Two, let's dance with the bogies at our one o'clock!"

"Copy that!" Joker Five banked away and reformed with Joker Six.

Meanwhile, he and Foulke continued onwards to intercept the eight other incoming enemy aircraft. Cipher flicked a switch on his control stick and switched to his medium ranged AIM-120 missiles. Instantly, his radar and HUD locked on to the northern group and Cipher launched all four. The deadly missiles split and carved their own white trail in the sky as they curved towards their individual targets. Only two hit, but evasion had split the other two up, meaning he and Foulke were easily able to engage. Cipher worked hard to keep the multi-role fighter in his sights. With one hand on the throttle and the other on the flight stick, he brought himself to within a mile of his target and matched the evasive manoeuvres his target performed, waiting for the optimum time to launch one of his five remaining AIM-9 sidewinder missiles.

"Galm One, Fox Two!" The missile shot from his right wing pylon and covered the short distance from him to his target in mere seconds. But the Belkan tightened the bank he was pulling and the missile failed to match the curve. "Missed."

"My time to shine!" Foulke swooped in from above, planting himself in between his flight lead and the Belkan F-18. He loosened his own short range missile and a few rounds of gunfire and the enemy aircraft disintegrated into flaming debris.

"The enemy threat level has dropped to under fifty percent, keep it up Galm Team!" AWACS Eagle Eye reported.

"This is Hunter Four, I need backup!"

Cipher looked to the source of the cry for help. The lone A-10 pilot was flying low and as fast as her damaged aircraft would allow while trying break away from a pair of JAS-35 Draken interceptors chasing her. Cipher rolled upside down and pulled a hard split S onto the rear of the outdated second-generation fighters. He quickly locked a sidewinder onto one and shot it from the skies. The other disengaged and broke away from the mercenary. Foulke came out of his dive and sprayed the small interceptor with gunfire. It flipped and tore itself to pieces as the pilot wisely decided it was a good time to abandon ship.

"Thanks Galm." Hunter Four sounded relieved. "Drinks on me when you get back to base!" she proceeded to exit the airspace.

"Joker Five, how are you coping?" Cipher asked as he looked over the clear skies, hunting for the other flight he was meant to intercept with Foulke.

"Well it's not turned into a flap yet if that's what you're asking. We're holding our own for now." Joker Five replied.

"Copy that, we may be a few minutes." Cipher spied the four bandits at his seven o'clock high and informed Foulke before rolling and snapping away to dodge a missile that passed through the spot where the mercenary had been seconds before. Three of the four followed him to engage, while one went off in search of Foulke. Cipher slammed his airbrakes on and turned tightly, stalling his aircraft in the process to which he quickly countered by pushing the nose down and slamming his afterburner on. The action caused the Belkan pilots to overshoot him as he dived rapidly, exchanging altitude for speed.

"What the hell…?!" The enemy flight lead exclaimed. "Where'd he learn to do that?!"

"Not possible…!" Another gasped.

Cipher pulled up sharply onto the tails of the three aircraft and launched all three remaining AIM-9 missiles under his wings in quick succession, all of which hit the stunned pilots and struck them from the skies. Foulke came about and reformed on his wing after easily downing the Belkan sent to shoot him down.

"…it's time…"

Cipher blinked. The transmission was unexpected and the ace had barely been able to catch it. The woman's voice was of Belkan origin, he guessed judging by the accent. Time for what? His pondering was interrupted by the Air Division's loitering E-767 AWACS.

"Enemy threat level has dropped off to under two percent." He informed. "Galm Team, escort Allied transports until they are able to land."

Cipher and Foulke had regrouped with Joker Squadron, but split, heading to the bottom-right corner of the combat airspace to rendezvous with the Osean C-17 Globemasters from Halo Squadron while the four surviving Osean Tomcats returned to base.

"There they are." Foulke said once the massive flying transports were in view. "The Allied transport planes." They overshot the five grey lumbering aircraft from above and banked around, coming in from the rear. They took up positions at the head of the arrowhead formation.

"Thank you for securing air superiority!" The lead Globemaster pilot thanked the Galm Team. Cipher lead the formation towards the designated landing sites. The Hunter Squadron had attacked an airfield which would serve as the staging ground for further attacks on the Belkans. He glanced down and saw small aircraft from Ustio patrolling and clearing up Belkan resistance.

"What was that?" Foulke asked suddenly. "Something flashed again!"

Cipher had saw it too, a bright blue flash from behind. He glanced in the mirrors installed in the cockpit to aid rear viewing and at that precise moment, the three rear C-17 transport aircraft simply exploded and tumbled to the ground in flames and smoke.

"What the fuck was that!" He yelled, scanning the skies desperately.

"Warning warning, unknown long-range chemical weapon attacks inbound. Current airspace is in range!" The usually calm AWACS sounded worried.

"Now you tell us, where should we fly?" Foulke growled.

"All aircraft, head to the south immediately to exit combat airspace!" AWACS Eagle Eye ordered. "Keep an eye on your radar for the attack."

"Laser weaponry…?" a pilot Cipher recognised as one of Lancer's pilots came on over the radio. "Damn Belkans…!"

"This is bad…" Foulke understated the situation. "I'm outta here!" and without waiting for Cipher to say anything, he broke off from the formation and headed south.

"Galm Two…" Cipher began to order his wingman back to his position when he saw the blue beam. A massive laser that sliced down from the sky and annihilated the remaining two C-17s in a single hit. Cipher estimated that the single shaft of deadly blue light was one hundred meters wide. His eyes widened and he rapidly banked his Eagle around and increased his airspeed.

"Use your radar to estimate where the next attack will come." The AWACS advised.

"Don't panic!" Hunter One encouraged his squadron. "Just keep flying and keep an eye on your radar."

Cipher had caught up with his fleeing wingman, who proceeded to take up his usual position above his wing. He glanced at his radar and noticed a large circular distortion at his two o'clock near where Fenrir was retreating. He shifted his look in that direction, just in time to see the laser attack obliterate six F-16 Falcons unable to evade the deadly laser.

"Fenrir Seven, respond!"

"Fenrir Two is incommunicado!"

"Fenrir Four, come in? Fenrir Eight are you there?!"

"All aircraft, evacuate to the south immediately!" Eagle Eye ordered, but the pilots didn't need to be told twice. The attack on the Schayne Plains had turned into a rout, with all remaining pilots urging their aircraft faster to escape the unstoppable attacks being thrown their way. But every time the blue flash of light carved angry scars into the land, it took several pilots with it.

Four times Cipher came face to face with death. Four times the laser cut off his path of retreat and forced him and his wingman to blindly dart away, narrowly brushing the edge of the chemical laser. Cipher could feel the heat from it, like the solar rays coming through his canopy on a warm summer's day. Then it would be over and they would continue their retreat. Then it would strike elsewhere, and the cries of death would sound over the radio along with the frantic calls of their terrified squadron members.

"You're out of the danger zone." AWACS Eagle Eye breathed a sigh of relief. "Galm Team, return to base."

Cipher sat back in his seat, breathing heavily to bring his thundering heart and adrenaline rush under control. A trickle of sweat tickled his forehead and he reached up to wipe it away. He looked over his shoulder to confirm the survival of his wingman, who flew by his side. He could almost see the famous mercenary's face.

"Looks like we live to see another day Cipher." Foulke said as they formed up with the remaining aircraft from Hunter, Fenrir and Lancer. Twenty six aircraft had taken off from Valais Airbase, but now only nine returned. The return home was silent, and the Galm Team found themselves landing last.

"Welcome back, Galm Team." The ATC said as the two F-15C Eagles landed together, one on each side of the runway. They taxied to their alert hangers without a word and powered down their jets before setting off to the debrief.

"I didn't like that." Cipher said. "I've never seen something with that much power!"

"Me neither." Foulke replied. "But as soon as intel figure out what exactly attacked us, I bet we'll be the ones going to destroy it."

The nine pilots seated themselves in their usual spots. Cipher studied the quiet faces of the survivors. Hurt, fear and disbelief were all present. But in each and every one of the pilots, Cipher saw hatred towards the Belkans and a desire for revenge.

"The mission objectives were achieved, but our forces were dealt a heavy blow by enemy laser ordnance, and great sacrifices were witnessed on our side." the Lieutenant General in charge of briefing and debriefing the pilots reported. "Our country must out an end to this war. If not, I fear the war may put an end to us. Still,the best defence is offence. We're counting on you all to lead us to victory!"

With that, the mercenaries and air force members left. Cipher saw Henderson talking to a member of his squadron, and Hunter One leading one of his younger ones away. This war had gotten one step closer towards crossing the line. And if that line was crossed, there was no telling what could happen. Cipher shook his head and headed to his hanger with Foulke to disarm and tidy away.

"_That was a bad nightmare." Solo Wing explained to Brett Thompson as the camera showed footage of the Galm Team landing at Valais following the mission. "We lost several of our members. Mercenaries like us are disposable to the guys in charge. But in the end, we survived."_


	3. Sword of Annihilation

**Sorry for the late posting of this one, readers! Psychology revision called. But it's up now, with the next chapter on it's way soon! Please enjoy.**

* * *

The bar was quiet the following night, save for the occasional small chatter between pilots and the soft music droning from the old jukebox. Cipher was seated in his usual spot at the bar on the late morning of May 23rd, with Foulke next him, both sipping on pint glasses of beer while observing the dull atmosphere of the once lively place. The deaths of many pilots of the 6th Air Division had had a blow on the morale of both mercenaries and Air Force pilots likewise.

"Belka's gone too far." Foulke muttered as he spoke of his home country. "Nuclear armament development and now chemical laser weaponry? What next, orbital strategic plasma cannons?"

"This war has to be stopped." Cipher squinted as light from the morning sun lashed through the window and shone in his eyes before dimming as if on command. "Though I don't see myself as an anti-war guy by any measure seeing as this is how I make a living, this one in particular is different."

"Cipher, Foulke!?" A shout from the door and shattered the quietness like someone cracking ice with a grenade. "You're wanted in the briefing room ASAP." The technician left without an explanation, leaving the mercenaries guessing as they made their way across the paddock where the alert hangers were situated to the briefing room. Inside, sat Crow Team. P.J looked round at Cipher and Foulke as they entered and smiled before turning to face the Lieutenant General waiting to give the briefing.

"He annoys me."Foulke muttered as he sat with Cipher at the back. The flight lead just chuckled.

The lights dimmed and the Axe and Hammer logo appeared on the screen, the company that designed the computer software for the Ustio Air Force. The screen flashed and zoomed in on the combat airspace in northern Belka.

"We have discovered that the unidentified laser weapon is a long range offensive weapon codenamed 'Excalibur.'" the intelligence officer announced. "We believe it to be a Belkan anti-aircraft defence chemical laser weapon designed as a missile defence system."

The screen showed the location of the weapon, as well as four other sectors arranged in a horizontal line below it. "According to our information, the strike zone is heavily guarded by jamming facilities and multiple anti-aircraft artillery units. Your objective is to destroy Excalibur." The Lieutenant General explained. "But to do that, you must first neutralise the jamming facilities and the anti-aircraft artillery."

"Considering the importance of your target to the enemy, I'm afraid there's no way to avoid casualties from enemy resistance." He warned as he ran a hand through his short brown hair. "In light of this, we have called in reinforcements for this mission. Work together with them to achieve the mission objectives."

"At last, we get to fly together!" Ryan grinned at Cipher as they left. "I was wondering when we'd be able to go on a mission with you guys."

"Yeah, P.J wouldn't stop going on about you after the liberation of Directus!" Crow Two took the opportunity to mock the youngest member of the team, who proceeded to punch the blonde-haired pilot on the upper arm with an embarrassed smile.

"Guess we'll see you in the air." Cipher broke off from the other team and headed to his open hanger where his F-15C was being towed out ready for use. He noticed that he was already armed with four AIM-120C AMRAAMs and two AIM-9 Sidewinders but the ground crew had wheeled over a set of bombs like the ones they used securing of the Sapin supply route earlier in the war. They looked at him as if to ask him to decide between more missiles or bombs.

"Bombs." He confirmed. "This mission will primarily be AGM."

With his wingman armed up as well, and both had conducted their pre-flight checks, the Galm Team taxied out onto the single runway at Valais Airbase. With a roar, they took off ahead of the Crow Team who were just beginning to taxi. Cipher looked down upon them from the skies as they lifted off and without further ado, headed for Tauberg where the deadly laser weapon was waiting...

"This is Sputnik One." The flight lead of a four-aircraft Yuktobanian F-16C Fighting Falcon squadron reported in. "We'll support you any way we can Galm Team."

Cipher pulled away from the Osean tanker, callsign Juicebox before he replied with a click of the mike.

"Crow One to Crow Three," Ryan's voice was recognisable over the radio as he continued to poke fun at the other pilot. "How's your girlfriend, is she your first?"

"I had a girlfriend in high school!" P.J replied.

"When are you planning to buy those flowers?" Cipher could almost hear Ryan laughing as the Crow Team flight lead spoke.

"Wait around too long and another guy's gonna steal her away from you, you know." Crow Two joined in.

"This is no time to talk about my personal life!" P.J sounded defensive.

"Looks like a handful of fighters have come to the rescue." Foulke referred to the Yuktobanian pilots who were no doubt laughing at the Crow Team formed up in a finger-four formation. Cipher glanced at his radar in time to see a pillar of distortion just like the laser attacks from the last mission created. Except this one was in a beam, not a disc, and came from where the briefing had pinpointed the location of Excalibur.

"Evasive manoeuvres!" He yelled as he broke from the formation and entered a fast shallow dive west with Foulke hard on his tail. Crow Team complied and went to east. Sputnik Squadron split and went both ways but moved too slow as the blue chemical laser sliced through the tanker and two of the Yuktobanian jets.

"The tanker's been destroyed." AWACS Eagle Eye reported. "All aircraft, you're in dangerous airspace, be on the alert!"

"Here they come!" A Belkan soldier said over the radio, which Eagle Eye had intercepted. "Increase ECM output to level three!"

"I'm losing radar guidance, my missiles are useless." Cipher could hear the crackling of the radio over Foulke's transmission as the pair of F-15C Eagles dived towards the first jammer. "We'll have to rely on bombs and guns."

"Galm Team, take out Excalibur's defences and then the cannon itself." Eagle Eye summed up the mission.

Cipher saw the large grey structure, sheltered by large hills to the north. It looked like a large button sticking out from the green landscape, and was flanked by two warehouses. He lined his fighter up with the jammer and when he thought he was in range, opened fire with his Vulcan cannon and peppered the building with bullets. The structure caught fire and exploded shortly after Cipher passed low and fast over it.

His missile warning system came to life with a high pitched wail and Cipher instinctively popped flares and broke hard. "Manpads." he strained against the g's he loaded onto his jet as he evaded the shoulder launched surface to air missile. He looked around to see Foulke strafe the warehouse where the shot had come from.

"Here comes an attack, all planes break!" The loitering AWACS shouted. The Galm Team applied afterburners and quickly vacated the laser's firing path before the deadly blue beam burst through the distant mist with a rumble.

"I want more power!" A commander at Excalibur ordered.

"Sir, the cooling systems can't..."

"I don't care, just do it!"

Cipher grinned to himself. Maybe the laser would just overheat and explode, saving them all the trouble of disabling it manually. His sharp eyes spied out the second jammer and he came off the afterburners to line up for his shot.

"Yo buddy, I've got this one." Foulke came from above him and Cipher pulled away from his attack run. "Galm Two, pickle!" The bomb landed squarely in the centre of the jammer, blasting a large hole in the centre. The explosion also knocked out two AA guns parked near the jammer before they could open fire.

"Nice job." Cipher praised his wingman as he formed back up.

"Don't hold back this time!" Crow Two encouraged his team-mates. "Destroy everything you can!"

"I know we can do this if the Galm Team flies with us!" P.J added.

"Pixy to Crow Three, if you get shot down crash where I can't see." Foulke said drily.

"Umm...roger..." P.J sounded uncertain.

Cipher looked at his radar and missile guidance systems, but they was still fuzzy. The Crow Team must be yet to take out the third and fourth jammers. With a sigh, he turned towards them.

"They're going to fire the laser, Cipher pull out!" Foulke exclaimed as the Belkan mercenary accelerated past the flight lead with afterburners on full. Deafened, Cipher did the same and narrowly missed the attack.

"All jammers are destroyed, now take out the laser weapon." AWACS Eagle Eye ordered.

With the radar, radio and missile guidance systems back online, the formation of seven aircraft turned towards the laser cannon,splitting and reforming whenever an attack came which seemed to be every three to five minutes.

"Increase power levels to maximum!" The Excalibur firing controller ordered.

"Dammit, there's no way through!" Foulke cursed as the giant towering structure came into view. "It's surrounded by railway artillery! Give me some orders!"

Cipher's radar identified a pair of incoming Belkan fighters scrambled to protect the superweapon. "Keep the skies clear." He said before flipping his fighter upside down and diving towards the first of the heavy weapons. The first of four large anti-aircraft weapon sat on the back of a large railway carriage at least twenty meters long. It slowly rotated and raised the barrel to aim at Cipher and fired a thin laser beam which Cipher rolled over and counter-attacked with gunfire, shredding the fragile weapon system.

"He's too fast and low, I can't aim the weapon!" A worker on one of the railway tactical laser systems cried.

"Way to go Galm One, smashing up the enemy's firepower!" Crow Two whooped.

Cipher followed a wide circle around the perimeter of Excalibur, quickly eliminating the remaining three AA weapons. Then as he climbed to attack the main laser atop the pillar, he watched in awe as the weapon powered up with a low whine. Purple sparks of electricity jolted from the structure and a blinding white light shone from the top of the laser before the laser exploded from the top off towards the formation of Allied Forces fighters.

"Galm Two, give me a sitrep!" He demanded.

"All Belkan fighters down." Foulke replied. "We lost Sputnik Three to the laser attack, I'm beginning my attack on the power generaters."

Around the laser weapon, lay four large buildings the size of a small power station. Crow Team and Foulke simultaneously launched an attack on each of them while Cipher and Sputnik One tried to hit the tip of the laser with gunfire.

"Sputnik One, do you have anything we can use against this?" Cipher asked as he came in for his third unsuccessful attack run.

"I'll try the AGM-65, but I can't promise anything." The older Yuktobanian replied in his deep voice as he turned away to line up for a shot. Cipher clicked the mike before banking sharply to avoid another laser shot. He looked down to witness the destruction of the power stations.

"Power generator one, down." Crow One said.

"There goes the second." Foulke said. "Things are looking pretty good."

"Woohoo, third station down!" That was P.J.

"Confirmation of all power plants destroyed." Crow Two finished.

Cipher grinned. "Sputnik One, now's your chance!"

"Roger that, Sputnik One rifle!"

In the distance, Cipher saw the missile ignite and shoot towards the laser. It impacted with a loud bang and shards of glass and metal were send flying in many different directions. Sputnik One flew past at great speed with a roar.

"Great job, now the laser is no longer a threat!" Eagle Eye congratulated.

"...one second...got it!"

Cipher frowned. That sounded like a Belkan pilot. He checked his radar but it was blank. "Galm Two, I'm being jammed."

"Likewise." Foulke replied. "I'll check it out up top." he pulled up above the clouds and out of sight. A few seconds later, he confirmed Cipher's thoughts. "EA-6 Prowler. I've got him." Cipher watched the clouds and then saw the tumbling wreck of the Belkan jet spewing fire. Four parachutes appeared soon after.

"We've got a shot, I think we're gonna do this!" P.J was excited.

Cipher pulled hard on the flight stick and swung his F-15C round as hard as he could. "Beginning attack run." He said as he lined up with the crippled laser cannon. Switching to his bombs, the HUD showed the trajectory his weapon would take and Cipher waited until the last possible moment when the HUD signalled when the bombs would hit the structure before releasing both free-fall explosives and pulling away with a call of "Galm One, weapons release!" The resulting explosion was enough to cause a chain reaction within the structure and it leaned over dangerously. Smaller explosions shook the ground while the Ustio mercenaries and the lone Yuktobanian F-16C Fighting Falcon circled and cheered.

"Wooohooo!" Crow Two cried.

"The sword has been pulled from the stone!" Sputnik One exclaimed. "It was Ustio's flight lead who did it!"

"Nice job!" The AWACS congratulated. "The laser weapon has been destroyed, we can even see it from here. P.J, don't get too excited and crash buddy!"

"Yeah, now that's what I call teamwork!" The young mercenary replied.

Cipher looked over, with Foulke on his wing, at the laser just as it snapped in half and the tip crashed into the ground with a screech.

"You hear that Cipher?" Foulke said calmly. "That's the sweet sound of victory! Not bad for a couple of misfits, huh?"

"Not bad at all." Cipher smiled. "Lets go home."

"Roger that." Both Eagles banked in unison and headed towards the border. Another mission, another victory. The ride back to Valais was long and tiring and by the time they landed, Cipher was almost ready to disable his onboard radio just in case he snapped through P.J's constant questioning and shot him down.

"Although we didn't discover any nuclear facilities, Excalibur is no longer a threat." The Lieutenant General told the grinning Crow Team and the quiet Galm Team. "This can be considered a substantial victory for our side."

He looked directly at the Galm Team at the back of the room and spoke to them. "Head Operations has recognised you as 'an indispensable component in this war,'" He quoted. "And expresses their upmost gratitude and respect."

Foulke nudged Cipher and spoke quietly. "We're starting to make our mark in this war."

"That's never a good sign when mercenaries become more valued than the Air Force." He replied.

"Maybe it's time we left." Foulke posed the question.

Cipher thought. "Not just yet."


	4. Mayhem

"_The sword has been pulled from the stone, it was Ustio's flight lead who did it!"_

Ustio's flight lead. That was what the Yuktobanian pilot had referred to him as. Not the Allied mercenary, not the Galm Team, but the Ustio flight lead. Cipher liked it. It sounded like he belonged here at Ustio, at Valais Airbase. But deep inside him, he knew that staying in one place wasn't an option. His belonged in the skies and constantly on the move. He was a mercenary by heart, and that wasn't going to change that.

"Cipher?"

He couldn't imagine remaining here at Ustio. After the war was over, what would happen then? A life of patrolling endless skies deterring enemies who were never to come? That wasn't Cipher's life...

"Cipher!?" Foulke jolted his flight lead out of his deep daydream. "Yo buddy, late night?" he laughed.

"Sorry, you were saying?"

The mercenaries were eating a very late breakfast, seated away from the regular Air Force pilots. It had become a standard spot for the Galm Team to seat, and it wasn't rare for a few regulars to come and try to stir up small talk and get them to tell stories of past combats. It was nice sometimes, but on mornings like this when Cipher just wanted to lose himself in deep thought, such pilots were often turned away without a tale.

"I was saying that we need to finish up quick, the Lieutenant General wants us in the briefing room by quarter past eleven." Foulke said after scalding his tongue on hot black coffee.

"What time is it now?" Cipher yawned.

"Time you got a watch."

"Time you got a new joke." Cipher countered.

"Time you got a new comeback." Foulke retorted and raised an eyebrow as if to challenge Cipher to come back with another comment.

"You win, now what time is it?"

"Time you got a watch." Foulke grinned.

"Larry..."

"Okay okay! It's eleven."

Cipher made a quick mental calculation. "We've got five minutes to spare." He said as he took a long sip of coffee and finished his cold bacon slice in one. "But better to be early."

The mercenaries took their plates to the kitchen and made their way to the empty room, arriving five minutes before the briefing was due to start. The door was unlocked and so they entered, spending the next five minutes discussing the possible courses the war could take until the Crow Team entered with the intelligence officer behind.

"Orders have come in for an emergency sortie!" He said hurriedly as he quickly loaded up the Axe and Hammer briefing programme. "A major air engagement is taking place as we speak between Belka and the Allied Forces near the border, in the B7R airspace which Belka is committed to defend at all costs."

The map came up and zoomed in on B7R as the officer continued talking. "B7R, commonly known as the 'Round Table' has long been a symbol of Belka political, military and industrial might. However just fifteen minutes ago, along with a lightning-quick commencement of Operation Battle Axe, the Allied Forces officially announced the permanent abrogation of it's non-aggression treaty at the Assembly of Nations and simultaneously attacked B7R with a massive fighter squadron."

Cipher noticed a second window open and show the two Osean squadrons numbering eight F/A-18 Hornets each labled 'Wizard' and 'Sorcerer'. A few minor squadrons were also shown. However, a mercenary unit caught his attention. The squadron was labelled as "Ghost" but that was all he saw before the window was shut.

"This mission may be our chance to finally end the Belkan War once and for all. I wish you luck."

Cipher felt cheered up as he left. A true air to air engagement. Just the thing he was born for. Although he hadn't been counting his kill score over the past few months, he was sure that he had surpassed his father's record.

"You're looking happier now Cipher." Foulke was grinning.

"Let's show the Belkans that we're not just a misfit group of mercenaries!" He replied before dishing out orders to his ground crew to arm up his fighter with as many missiles as it could carry as well as a drop tank on the under-fuselage pylon.

With Foulke ready to go, and Cipher was happy, the Galm Team began to taxi to the runway and took off one at a time with the Crow Team not far behind.

* * *

"Incoming message from Allied Forces HQ." AWACS Eagle Eye sounded calm and professional despite the mayhem happening below. "Forty percent of Allied air forces are already lost."

An Osean F/A-18 came out of a dive and levelled out, only to find itself in the sights of a Belkan MiG-29. He pulled a hard bank to avoid a missile shot and a wild burst of gunfire. "Dammit, there's too many of them!" he cried. "We can't handle them all!"

"Where are the reinforcements?!" Another demanded seconds before he fell to a well placed missile shot from a tailing Belkan Su-27.

Cipher jettisoned his drop tank to allow him extra mobility. He rolled upside down and looked up to gaze down into a deadly game of cat and mouse, with small explosions signalling the death of another fighter aircraft.

"Time to dive into the fireworks!" Foulke muttered as he imitated Cipher's actions and pulled back on the stick, angling their Eagles towards the fray and diving out of the sun. Cipher rolled out the right way up and instantly set his sights on a MiG-29 dead ahead as it engaged one of the Allied Forces' attacking fighters. His HUD picked up two Su-27 Flankers not too far behind in formation as well as the MiG and outlined them in green squares.

"Galm Two, cleared to engage any and all targets." he said. "Stay near me though."

"Copy that." Foulke replied.

"Another plane's been shot down!" Someone reported. Cipher looked at the MiG as it pulled away from it's kill and swung round to engage without a second thought. He had picked up a lot of speed in his dive, and came close enough to the Belkan to easily make out the green, brown and grey camouflage pattern on the aircraft. He quickly switched to guns and riddled the fuselage with bullet holes, causing it to spew smoke and tumble out of control.

"All damaged aircraft, return to base." An Osean flight lead ordered.

"I've never been in an aerial battle of this scope before!" P.J exclaimed.

Cipher's missile tracking system went berserk and he pulled a sharp turn to avoid an R-73 missile fired from an attacking Flanker, one of the two he'd seen earlier. Foulke had also seen them, and quickly engaged and shot it down with a sidewinder.

"Still no reinforcements from base, If only they'd get here, we could put an end to this war at once!" A Belkan complained.

Cipher swung round onto the tail of the second Flanker and used his gun again to tear off the wing.

"The Round Table's nothing special, I'll take care of things!" P.J said. Cipher looked briefly for him but gave up. There were too many aircraft in the sky to accurately pick out a single pilot. His vision snapped to his wingman.

"Galm Two, there's one on your tail!" Cipher warned Foulke of the lone MiG-29 attempting to line up for a missile or gun shot.

"Shit, how'd he get there!" Foulke pulled a sharp split S and went straight into a hard turn to shake the enemy fighter. Cipher tried to engage and managed to force the MiG to abandon his prey, allowing Foulke to focus on a separate enemy fighter.

"Our support's here?" An Osean questioned the AWACS. "Who'd they send us?"

"IFF has confirmed it's Galm." Another answered in place of the AWACS. "The reinforcement team is Galm."

Cipher chased the Fulcrum as it entered a high speed vertical dive towards the desert below, shedding off altitude to rapidly gain airspeed before pulling back on the flight stick hard and pulling off at an angle. He had underestimated the capabilities of the mercenary and his Eagle, who was easily able to keep with the smaller fighter which was now easy prey.

"Galm One, Fox Two!" The pilot ejected before the sidewinder smashed into the fighter, blowing it to pieces.

Cipher urged his blue-winged fighter on, applying afterburners and pushing his jet up to five thousand feet. A pair of Flankers caught his attention and he faced them head on. They split before he was able to switch to AMRAAMS and he cursed, following the right banking aircraft.

"The guy who pulled out Tauberg's sword is here. Be careful!" A Belkan flight lead warned. Tauberg's sword must be Excalibur, or what remained of it. But the mercenary had little time to ponder the comment as a missile streaked over him and blew his target apart.

"We've still gotta get the job done." Foulke stated as he rolled over Cipher and banked off to deal with another enemy fighter. Cipher strained his neck around to locate the second Flanker. He saw it, seven o'clock coming in below his wing. If he hadn't been banking, it would've been invisible to him.

"I'll put that Ustio mercenary in his place!"

A missile alert. Cipher popped flares and looped, evading the missile. He gracefully came out of the loop into a smooth left turn, the Flanker still coming in at his six. It loosened a burst of gunfire which was too low, which prompted Cipher to snap-roll right and pull sharply. The surprised Flanker was late to react, but by the time it began to move, Cipher was already coming about to fire a AIM-9 and claim another kill to his name. He climbed and levelled out at seven thousand feet with Foulke with him, observing the fight.

"Don't give up, it's not over yet!" An Osean pilot urged his colleagues on.

"I'll shoot them down and make a name for myself!" The Belkan was young by the sound of his voice.

From Cipher's vantage point, he spied a pair of Belkan Su-37 Terminators detach from a formation and head their way. "Heads up Galm Two, we've got company."

"Seen, I'll take the one on the left."

Cipher aimed his jet at the incoming pair of fighters, ignoring the warning sounds of attempts to lock a missile onto him and singled out his target, a silver and blue terminator. The super-manoeuvrable Su-37's were smart enough to stay together and continued to charge at the diving mercenaries who each launched sidewinder at their respective targets. Only then did they break and abort the attack.

"Missiles off target!" Cipher growled.

"We're passing between them!" Foulke exclaimed. The two Terminators rushed by each on afterburners sending loud rumbles through Cipher's cockpit.

"You don't have what it takes to fly in the Round Table!" The Belkans taunted as the mercenaries tightly pulled back on their flight sticks, forcing their fighters to turn sharply and gave chase to the pair of Su-37's, drawing sharp white contrails in the sky. The formation wasn't far ahead, so Cipher switched to AMRAAMS and fired two.

"Fox Three Fox Three!" the deadly projectiles were accurate, and both Terminators were destroyed seconds later.

"The enemy threat level is down, continue to engage." AWACS Eagle Eye ordered.

"There's so many of em'!" Foulke exclaimed.

Cipher glanced at his radar. They were at the edge of the fray, so he twisted and turned his F-15C Eagle towards the fight. He applied afterburners, injecting fuel straight into the inlet and felt the g's push him into the seat.

"Wizard One here, the enemy has broken formation. Take them out."

Cipher pulled back the throttle leaver and came out of afterburners, quickly decelerating. He saw a lone MiG and dived to attack. The unsuspecting pilot barely had enough time to register the mercenary and the incoming sidewinder before said sidewinder blew his jet apart.

"Larry, can you read me?" Wizard One asked.

"Looks like you've still got the touch." Foulke replied from Cipher's wing.

"It's happening, just as you thought." The Osean said. "It's about time we got out of this dead-end job."

"Not just yet." Foulke answered.

Cipher spied another lone Fulcrum and locked onto it with an AIM-120. But then he saw a closer Belkan fighter on his radar and pulled out if his level flight to latch onto the back of it. A few bursts of gunfire and it too joined the many plane wreaks on the ground under the Round Table.

"Dam, the sky is too crowded!" Cipher overheard the Belkan pilot's remark.

"Heeya!" Crow Two was obviously enjoying himself. "Get a good eyeful of this flying! Let it sink in!" He gloated to his team mates.

"Reinforcements still haven't arrived, what is our country doing?!"

Cipher looked for his wingman, and saw him chasing an Su-27 across the sky above him. He turned to intercept and increased his airspeed, but Foulke easily dispatched him with a round of gunfire.

"Well done, the enemy threat level has dropped to under fifty percent!" AWACS Eagle Eye congratulated. Just a little more."

"Galm Two, ammo check." Cipher reformed with Foulke in level flight.

"Galm Two, I have me four AIM-120 and three AIM-9." He replied. "And you?"

"Two AIM-9 and two AIM-120." Cipher answered. "There's still a few left, don't use them all up in one go."

"Understood."

"Sorcerer One to all units. That's the Galm Team. Watch and learn." the other main Osean squadron's flight lead said in awe.

"Galm Two to Galm One, lets show them how we roll!" Foulke said.

With that, the Galm Team entered the battle once more. Belkan after Belkan rose to challenge their place in the sky but each fell before the might of the two pilots who almost forgot about missiles and used their equally deadly 20mm cannons to cripple the defenders of the Round Table in their futile attempts to hold off the attack. The amazing display of superior aerial combat was noticed by friend and foe alike

"Galm's not fighting alone! Let's show them what the Osean Air Force can do!" These words of encouragement were enough to replenish the depleting morale of the Osean pilots from the shrinking squadrons. The Allied Forces aircraft renewed their assault on the defenders with a new urge to win.

Cipher sent another Flanker to it's fate below the battle. As he did so, an F/A-18 shot by with a MiG firmly attached to his six, and the Ustio mercenary came about and locked onto him with a sidewinder which was sent flying towards the Belkan, homing in on the hot exhaust and connected with a bang and a cloud of fire and black smoke.

"Time to get fired up, boys!"

The Galm Team formed up behind Crow Team briefly before splitting to go their separate ways. Cipher noted a pair of two more Su-37 Terminators incoming and informed Foulke.

"I'm on it, Fox Three!" Two missiles dropped from the underbelly of the red-winged Eagle and destroyed one, leaving the other to be dealt with by the mercenary pair.

"The commander's plane is gone! Confirm our chain of command!" The remaining Terminator pilot yelled.

Foulke was the first to get his plane into an optimum firing position behind the jinking Terminator, and took the shot without a second thought.

"They're attacking without mercy, do they plan on burning everything?" The Belkan pilot sounded angry and confused.

"That Ustio mercenary, damn him!" Another cursed. "He's turning the tide of the battle in their favour!"

Cipher glanced at his radar and saw that the Belkan was right. The number of enemy fighters had dropped considerably, and it looked as if things were finally going in the direction the Allied Forces wanted it to. By the sounds of the excited chatter on the radio, he wasn't the only one on his side to notice.

"Galm's revived our front line!" Someone cheered.

The blue-winged mercenary found himself head to head with an enemy Flanker, who'd just finished shooting down an Osean Hornet, and immediately launched a short ranged missile at him. As if he'd practised the manoeuvre time and time again, Cipher popped flares and barrel-rolled over the missile and overshot the grey and black Su-27.

"He can't be human!" The pilot cried in panic as Foulke came about from a previous combat and used guns to tear the left intake and engine apart. Vomiting unhealthy smoke, he turned to disengage and escape the battle. "He's like a demon, I've never seen anything like it!"

"Let him go." Cipher ordered, bringing his jet into level flight. "He's no threat to us now."

"That kind of a pilot..." An Osean said. "...They call a Demon Lord."

"Wizard One to all units, Belka's days are over. Let's wrap this up."

Cipher looked over his shoulder and saw Foulke on his wing like a faithful hound dog who never left his master's side. He sighed and wiped the sweat gathering on his forehead under his visor with a leather-gloved hand and prepared to continue with the engagement.

"Those mercenaries are going to get all the credit again." Someone grumbled good-naturedly.

"I fight for peace." P.J said. So he hadn't been shot down yet. "That's what I'm up here for."

"While you're up here 'fighting for peace', tons of blood is being shed on the ground." Foulke was quick to comment.

"Some 'peace' kid." Cipher added.

"And I'm here to put an end to that!" P.J retorted to Foulke.

As Cipher listened, he saw a target flying low and fast. He pointed his nose at it and launched an AIM-120 at it, quickly adding one more to his kill score.

"You think you can stop bloodshed by shedding more blood?" Foulke sounded like he was about to snap. "Flyin' with all those ideas swimming around in your head is gonna get you killed."

_In more than one way. _Cipher thought. There were no real threats from Belkan fighters anymore. The Osean squadrons were up against a more reasonable sized enemy, thanks to the efforts of the Galm Team. So Cipher flew a lazy arc, calming the adrenaline. Foulke suddenly dived and twisted around, coming up behind a Belkan fighter and easily blowing it from the sky with a missile shot.

"Galm Two, I've bagged a bandit!"

"Galm Team, multiple craft approaching!" AWACS Eagle Eye warned. "Something's wrong...stay alert."

On Cipher's radar, he saw a pack of five incoming aircraft from the north west corner of the combat airspace. As Foulke returned to his position, his radar went dead without warning.

"I'm jammed!" He reported. "Radar signature's dropping."

"Me too...must be an escort plane with ECM's affecting the radar." Foulke sounded concerned.

An unknown voice came over the intercepted radio communications. It was obviously Belkan, as Cipher could tell by the faint accent but their manner was calm and cool, not panicky and stressed like the defending squadrons. "Target is in firing range." It said. "Schnee One to all units, release your missiles!"

"Galm Two, I'm spiked, evasive manoeuvres!"

"Break! Hard left!"

The Galm Team broke apart as four long range AIM-54 Phoenix missiles appeared in the sky and carved a path through where the two F-15C Eagles of the Galm Team had once been.

"Schnee Four to Schnee One, target confirmed on radar, it's him!"

"Galm Two to Galm One, I'm not sure we have enough missiles to take them on." Foukle expressed his concern.

"I'm sure we can handle it." Cipher looked at his radar but the jamming continued. "The Allied air force is still dealing with the remains of the Belkan defenders. We'll have to do this ourselves."

"36th Mercenary Fighter Squadron 'Ghost' to Galm Team, do you read me?" another new voice on the radio, but it sounded like an Osean pilot.

"This is Galm One, go ahead Ghost Squadron." Cipher replied as he came back around to engage the new threat, still out of AMRAAM range.

"Ghost One to Galm One, need a hand?" the flight lead asked casually.

"I suppose we could use some help."

"Stay on guard, those guys can fire long range missiles." Foulke advised. As if on cue, Cipher's HUD went red to alert him of incoming missiles.

"They've got a lock, break!" Eagle Eye ordered. "Ghost Squadron, you are cleared to engage."

Cipher dived, releasing flares in the process to escape the lock. When he pulled up, he jinked to avoid colliding with two blue and white F-14D Super Tomcat fighters. He pulled hard onto their tails, locked on to one with his last AIM-120 missile and fired. The heavy fighter was unable to evade and burst into flames.

"You've gotta fly faster!" A Schnee Squadron member growled.

"This is Ghost Four, radar should now be working, I've jammed the Prowler." A new voice with a new accent, this one sounding like a drawl from a country in southern Osea, possibly Leasath or Aurelia. "I should get a bonus for that."

Cipher checked his radar and sure enough, it was online. "Ghost One, could you deal with the jammer aircraft?" He asked as he closed the gap between him and the Tomcat he was chasing.

"Already on it Galm One."

"Galm Two fox three!" A medium range missile streaked overhead and shot down the Schnee Squadron member Cipher was chasing. "Got 'em."

Cipher looked at his radar and saw two more at his six, who promptly fired more long range missiles. The mercenaries split and evaded.

"My squadron will bask in the glory if we get through this alive." Schnee One said.

"Ghost Two, the Prowler is history, courtesy of..." Another man whooped with a weird accent Cipher hadn't heard before.

"Spare me the announcements Ghost Two." A woman interrupted.

"Ustio mercenary...nice shooting." The Schnee commander said.

"Break right! Break right!" A Schnee member creid out to his wingman. Cipher's head snapped over to where the Super Tomcats from the Belkan ace squadron had been seconds before they had turned hard to evade a short ranged missile fired from an F-22 Raptor bearing the IFF signature of a friendly craft. It was joined by a second and the pair passed overhead.

_That must be Ghost Squadron_ He thought to himself. But now, the Schnee aircraft had been forced into a position where Cipher and Foulke could continue the offensive. He rolled and came about onto the tail of one but they dived before he could release a burst of gunfire. Cipher however, wasn't about to lose his prey and quickly dove to keep with him.

"This one's fast..." the Belkan ace muttered. "His flying is unpredictable!"

"Demon of Ustio...!" The weapons systems officer cried.

The variable-geomety wings of the carrier-borne heavy fighter were swept back to minimise drag and maximise speed, soon pulling out of sidewinder range.

"I'm following the captain's lead..." Cipher saw the second Tomcat dive as well onto Cipher's tail. The mercenary came out of the dive fast to avoid being targeted by the short range missiles the enemy were sure to carry.

"Don't be too hasty." The Schnee flight lead said. "Just fly as you always do and we can win this."

Foulke was back with Cipher, and the Galm Team turned to face their enemy who had regrouped and turned to attack once more. To his left, Cipher's radar picked up a single aircraft but when he looked, he saw three. Two Raptors flanking a single EA18-G Growler.

"This is our turf, we'll fly how we please!" Ghost Two taunted the Belkans. A missile streaked from one of the flanking Raptors and hit the right Tomcat, blowing it is wing off and causing it to tumble out of control.

"Another aircraft...?" Schnee One said in disbelief. "Who shot it down?!"

Cipher's systems went on alert. "Radar spike, the enemy's tracking me on radar." He pulled up and banked away to evade the missile soon to come, and saw Foulke do the same. The breaking mercenaries passed either side of the lone F-14D who gracefully turned around in the direction of Ghost Squadron, who loitered the area.

"So that pilot is the Demon Lord?" The woman from Ghost Squadron asked.

"More Ustio mercenaries, this is going to be fun!" The Belkan ace said as he launched his remaining Phoenix missiles at the other squadron who effortlessly evaded. The action allowed Foulke to get on the tail of the F-14D and fire his last missile, an AIM-120. The projectile was dead accurate, and blew the tail of the last fighter to pieces.

"That's a kill!" Foulke sounded pleased.

"The Demon Lord of the Round Table..." An Osean pilot said in awe.

The Galm Team formed up, and Cipher looked across to where the Ghost Squadron flew nearby. Their aircraft all bore a while outline on dark grey, with black tribal designs covering the top of the aircraft. One flanking Raptor had yellow wingtips. Cipher admitted it looked cooler than his blue wings.

"All targets in the combat airspace are down, operation complete." Eagle Eye reported.

"Guess we'll see you around then Galm Team." Ghost One said before his squadron banked away towards another airfield elsewhere.

Foulke whistled. "Yo buddy," He said. "You still alive?"

* * *

**In case you're wondering, the 36th Mercenary Fighter Squadron is a made-up squadron who I decided to add in last minute. This chapter took me at least five hours to write with near constant corrections and changes, but it's finally done :) next chapter up soon**


	5. Those who were There

_The insignia of the Galm Team, a red hellhound tearing at it's chain, appeared onscreen as Brett Thompson spoke._

"_My pulse raced at the astounding accomplishments of the mercenary known as 'Demon Lord'." He said. "I forgot about my job and read everything I had on hand."_

_The screen changed, this time showing the country of Belka, with the south west highlighted. _

"_Around the time 'Demon Lord' received his nickname, South Belka showed signs of weariness regarding the war." Thompson explained. "Because the region was set up as a defence line to protect the birthplace of Belka in the north, the people's dissatisfaction had reached a climax."_

_Now the screen switched to show a Belkan flag, the black white and yellow flying against a grey sky. While viewers looked on, it was slowly lowered to the floor as army trucks drove off carrying soldiers._

"_The cities declared themselves demilitarized, and peacefully surrendered to the Allied Forces. Unable to establish a defensive position, the Belkan Army kept retreating to the north. The end of the war was fast approaching."_

_A new topic of conversation was created by the camera now focussing on a desk covered in CD discs and files marked 'Osean Air Defence Force'. A laptop was open, showing the OADF website._

"_I was given an opportunity to interview the former aces of the Belkan Air Force." Thompson changed the subject. "Back then, they were the masters of the sky, and they had also known him. So I crossed the border to follow his trail." The camera now switched to a panorama of Oured Grand National Station. "I wanted to capture the war and the 'Demon Lord' from their point of view. To capture the voices of those who were there."_

_A black background. White writing faded into view. It read: _

_Interview #01  
__The Strategist  
__Sudentor, Belka  
__15 Oct, 2005_

_Suddenly it changed to show another insignia, one of a green owl._

"_Bernhard Schmidt, the man with the eyes of an owl." Thompson introduced his first interviewee as acoustic guitar music played softly in the background. "Grun Team Commander, former member of the Belkan Air Force 10th Air Division, 8th Tactical Fighter Squadron. Fighting with distinguished service on the battlefield, he earned the title of 'Ace' with his uncanny ability to adapt quickly to the flow of battle."_

_Schmidt was sat in a booth at a fast food restaurant. He was dressed casually in black slacks, a green jacket and a black hat. "I had a bad feeling while I was flying towards the Round Table." He said with a voice that was clear and easy. "Why were they having problems downing two mercenaries? I figured it was just temporary chaos and would be over by the time I got there. The pilots of the Belkan Air Force are true professionals." He smiled as he spoke the last line. "But when I saw the situation, I couldn't believe my eyes."_

_Rare unseen footage in black and white showed two MiG-21bis Fishbed fighters bearing the marks of the Belkan Air Force climb to intercept two Eagles. One banked hard but was destroyed in a ball of fire._

"_I thought maybe my IFF was malfunctioning." Schmidt continued. "There were still two enemies on the radar. Everyone else in my squadron had the same reaction. This is really happenin'."_

_He leaned forwards, resting his elbows on the table and began to explain the sequence of events that happened that day._

"_Every now and then, guys like that appear on a battlefield. "Someone special, y'know? I squinted my eyes and confirmed the situation. Checked the terrain, air currents, his plane, his manoeuvres and his remaining ammo. I figured I could do it. I knew what I was getting into, but he still outmanoeuvred me beyond my expectation."_

_The screen went black, before more writing in white faded from the darkness:_

_Interview #02  
__The Fallen  
__Directus, Ustio  
__13 Sept, 2005_

_The insignia of the next ace, a yellow and black cormorant in a green field, appeared above the name of the pilot, his squadron and squadron details. All of which were read out by the reporter while the same soft acoustic music accompanied the introduction as before._

"_Gelb Team's number two, former member of the Belkan Air Force, 5th Air Division, 23rd Tactical Fighter Squadron. Rainer Altman. He flew the skies of Directus during the capital's liberation. And he's still there to this day."_

_Sat at a desk crowded with photograph frames, was Altman. The orange sunset flooded in through the window, bathing the right side of the man in gold and leaving the other in shadow. The man spoke slowly and carefully._

"_I met him above this very sky." He began. "I can still hear the sounds of the missile alerts from that day."_

_Another map appeared as the ex-Belkan Air Force ace spoke. It showed south Belka and the Hydrian Line as well as Ustio and Directus. "I received an order to fly to Directus on my way back from an intercept mission on the southern defence line. The order itself wasn't unusual, we kept being deployed from one mission to the next without receiving even the basic maintenance. But the situation was the same all around."_

_The camera was back in the darkened room, and focussed on the old bell tower just out the window in the distance, silhouetted by the dying sun._

_He continued. "We were late reaching the operational space. The stationed squadrons had already retreated, and warning bells were going off in the city. And the people were looking up to his plane high above the sky."_

_Altman sat up straight as he recalled his battle with the Demon Lord. "It felt like he could see right through me he was always one step ahead of me. As soon as I thought I was in a good position to attack, he would break and then he was behind me. And then I couldn't shake him. He matched every combat manoeuvre I made until I used up every trick in the book! I couldn't see any emotion in his manoeuvres. I didn't feel like I was fighting against a human being. The never ending sounds of the missile alerts put fear in my heart for the first time." He took a deep breath as he relived the air combat that had took place almost nine years ago. "I wanted to end that battle as quickly as possible."_

_More blackness, and more writing signalled the third interview. This time, the small writing read:_

_Interview #03  
__A man who lived for battle  
__The state of North Osea  
__7th Sept, 2005_

_Then as before, the insignia of the interviewee appeared above his name and details as he was introduced by Thompson and the usual soft music. The insignia this time was of a duck smoking a cigar while wearing a black leather jacket._

"_Schnee Team Commander." Thompson read. "Former member of the Belkan Air Force, 22nd Air Division, 4th Tactical Fighter Squadron. Erich Hillenberand."_

"_He never had any great ambitions, all he ever hoped for was to make a living as a regular pilot." He explained. "Today he works as a flight instructor for civilian pilots."_

_The third pilot was obviously the older of all interviewees. His short hair and trimmed beard had turned stone grey, and the wrinkles in his forehead were beginning to show. He sat upon a workbench in his black and white uniform. Visible out the large window of the ground floor room was a flight line with a small number of light civilian aircraft._

"_The instant he shot me, I pulled the lever, I barely managed to escape from my plane before it burst into flames!" He said with a small laugh, showing his good humour._

_The camera panned B7R. "After drifting from the blast, I landed below the Round Table. It was a wide open, barren wasteland." He described. "How long would I have to wait for a rescue party?"_

_Back to Hillenberand in his office. "Radio interference within the Round Table was fierce." The old pilot continued without missing a beat. "The odds of a distress signal actually reaching anyone was low. I was at a loss for what to do. Anyway, I'd really gone out with a bang this time! I took that as a sign it was time for me to retire." He said with a smile and a small shake of the head. "But just then, I heard a roaring overhead. It was his plane. I was jealous of his calm flying form."_

"_Rather than wait for the rescue team, I began to walk toward the nearest base. I was driven by desire to get back up there and fight him again! Of course, it did take me three days to get there!" Both he and Thompson laughed._

_Now the programme focussed back on Solo Wing, sitting on the single stool in the war torn room holding his AK-47 against his shoulder._

"_Every time I flew with him, his skill stood out. He was unstoppable." He shook his head slightly. "It didn't matter where the battlefield was, the man had complete trust in his own powers. He was born for battle. He would ascertain the situation in an instant, and change the tide of battle. But he was also cool headed and proud. A combat professional." Solo Wing adjusted his grip on his rifle before continuing. "It was no wonder they called him 'Demon Lord'. The name fit him perfectly. He was born for combat."_

_A quick showing of a tattered statue of a woman, clad in robes and holding a spear while pointing onwards. The Goddess of War._

_The man's eyes never looked at the camera, but focussed on the reporter sitting behind it. "Before long, everyone had taken notice of him. More and more would show up to watch him go off on sortie." He looked away as if jealous. "Mercenaries or maintenance crew, it didn't matter. People wanted to burn his image to their memories."_

"_Hell," The pilot gave a quick smile. "They weren't the only ones."_


	6. Inferno

The Demon Lord aligned himself up with his target. He closed one eye in order to make his aim more accurate and took a silent breath before striking. His shot was perfect. The small white pool ball was sent hurtling across the table at great speed before smashing into a solid red and almost pocketing it.

"Nice shot." His wingman gave him a pat on the back as Cipher stepped away from the pool table to allow the Crow Team to take their turn.

"So how many did you bag in the Round Table?" Ryan asked the now famous pilot.

"Fourteen." Cipher replied without pausing to think. The operation had been on the front of the mercenary's mind for the past few days and he could not only remember how many he'd claimed but also the conversations that had occurred. And one was stuck in his mind. Yet that wasn't the only thing he was thinking of. During the mission, he'd felt an unusual calm settle over him, like he belonged there in the Round Table. Like whenever he flew in the conflicted skies, he was at home. "And what about you?"

"Me? I claim six kills." The ex-ISAF pilot answered as he lined up for his turn. "I saw an interesting engagement."

"Go on." Cipher was intrigued.

"It was when you and that other squadron were dealing with the reinforcements." Ryan's shot was poor, and the white rebounded off the side and into a pocket. "There was this Belkan aircraft, a Fishbed if I remember correctly."

"Yeah, a MiG-21." Crow Two said. Cipher had learnt that his name was Alex Hicks.

"So this MiG overshoots us and just ignores us all." Ryan continued while Foulke pocketed the ball Cipher had set up. "And as you do, we went to intercept while P.J finished off this other Belkan. Then out of nowhere, an Osean F-14A Tomcat appears and engages."

"Sounds like a one-sided battle to me." Cipher said.

"Well that's what we thought, but this MiG pilot was obviously a top guy, he's giving the Osean a run for his money while we loiter around and watch just in case." Hicks explained. "Then all of a sudden, another aircraft joins in."

"I think it was an F-15 type or something." P.J added. "It looked like one but with canards and thrust vectoring."

"Well he comes diving in and the two pilots have no chance." Ryan laughed. "This guy just pops them both off with a few missiles then turns to have a go at us. Luckily, we were ready and this guy goes down."

"Not without a fight, mind you." Hicks butted in.

Cipher finished off the game by potting three more reds then the black. "A Belkan engaging another Belkan? That sounds interesting."

"So you're an ace pilot, a decent blackjack player and now an excellent pool player!" Ryan picked up his beer with a laugh. "It was nice playing with you. Guess we'll see you around." And with that, the other mercenary team left the pilot room leaving Cipher and Foulke alone.

The flight lead broke the comfortable silence. "So what was happening, just as you thought?"

Foulke looked confused until he realised that Cipher was on about during the previous mission. "Oh that? That was just some prediction I made with Wizard One, it was nothing massive."

"What prediction?" Cipher looked over.

Foulke sighed. "Don't you see? This war is all about power and resources. And B7R is a prime example of both. Those who control it get the resources within it and also air supremacy over the area. Belka wanted it at first, now the Allied Forces have it. It's just one big argument over who gets what. The very thing that caused Belka to start the war is the very thing the Allied Forces are now pushing to get themselves. We're back where we started, except now we're on the aggressive side."

"So you're suggesting we change sides?" Cipher challenged.

"I'm not saying that at all!" Foulke replied. "I'm just saying that maybe our reason to fight is gone."

"Larry," Cipher fired the cue ball down the length of the table and caught the rebound. "My reason to fight is to see this war to the end, and to see Ustio victorious, as much as I hate it. This war won't end until one side gives up." He looked his wingman in the eye and Foulke returned the stare, ice blue against dark amber. "What's your reason to fight?"

Foulke remained silent. Just as he was about to speak, an NCO popped her head round the door, her long auburn hair pulled back neatly into a bun. Both mercenaries broke off the staring contest as she spoke. "Cipher, Pixy, you're wanted in the briefing room in fifteen minutes."

Cipher nodded and the corporal left. He glanced at Foulke as they made their way out the door and across the flight line to the small room where the briefings were conducted. The sunset bathed the fighters in various shades of orange and gold, while their tall shadows battled for rule of the ground. Cipher admired every F-18 Hornet, F-16 Fighting Falcon and A-10 Thunderbolt he passed. Yes, he had admitted himself that he was a plane geek. Did he care? Nope.

They entered the room, where Crow and four pilots from Fenrir sat. When they entered, the lights dimmed and the officer began his brief along with the usual Hammer and Axe briefing programme. "The Belkan forces are beginning to take flight." He announced. "The industrial city of Hoffnung is crucial to the enemy's industrial strategy and head of its war productions. The Allied Forces have decided that all Belkan war production must be stopped to expedite the end of the war, and has requested our participation in this operation."

"The operation will primarily involve the bombing of ground facilities by the Allied Forces bombers. Your mission is to support those bombers and attack enemy facilities. We have achieved near total air supremacy over the target area, but don't let your guard down: there may still be sporadic resistance." He warned.

Cipher stood, taking control of the situation from here. "Okay, seeing as you're all flying the F-16, which can carry air-to-ground guided weapons, I need you guys to take care of the anti-air components of the Belkan army for us, as neither myself or Foulke can carry such weapons."

Henderson nodded. "Sure thing, you and Foulke going to maintain the air supremacy?"

"We'll do our best." Foulke answered from his position at the back of the room. "More likely we'll be bored shitless because the Oseans have maintained the near total air supremacy for almost two days."

"Right then, let's roll out." Cipher led the way out the door and headed to his F-15C Eagle, his wingman not far behind. He armed his plane with his usual air to air load out and Foulke did the same. When he was happy, he began to taxi and took off with a roar of afterburner with Foulke, Crow Team and Fenrir Squadron not far behind. They formed up and headed for the city, and the key to the rapid end of the war.

Cipher decided there and then that he hated long flights. Anything where he was required to refuel his bird in the air was now classed to him as 'too long'.

"Galm Two to all craft, I see a burning city up ahead." The horizon was orange with the light of flames, standing out greatly against the dark night.

"That must mean the bombing has started." P.J said.

_Thanks for the BFO._ Cipher thought as he picked out the radar signatures of six B-52 bombers nearby, showing the ID signals of Osea. "Let's move." The Demon Lord said as he banked towards them, with Foulke trailing. The seven Falcons continued on their own courses.

"Begin the operation. Protect the allied bomber squadron." AWACS Eagle Eye said. The two F-15C Eagles were soon over the outskirts of the city where flames burned everywhere. Even where there were no factories present, the area wasn't spared from the rain of death the huge bombers created.

"I thought this was a precision bombing mission?" Foulke questioned quietly.

"They're just tossing bombs all over the place…" Cipher was stunned.

As if on cue, the lead bomber radio operator sent out a message to all in his squadron. "To all bombers, remove Belka's capability to counterattack. Priority is placed on destruction over accuracy."

"Drop 'em all." A second said.

"Turn it to ashes!" Another ordered. "That's not enough, drop more bombs!"

Cipher couldn't describe the feelings of anger he felt at that point. He would say he saw red but the saying would fit poorly in with the current situation, where even the sky burned with orange. He resisted the urge to shoot down the lumbering B-52 squadron and instead focussed his anger into diving and attacking a battery of four Belkan SAM launchers. He strafed one with guns before pulling away and loosening flares to evade the missiles fired at him. As he turned to attack again, two long range air-to-ground missiles fired from Crow Team eliminated two more, while the last was taken out by Foulke using the same tactic as his flight lead.

Without further ado, he headed for the main city, where the main fires burned. The Belkan industrial city was based along a major river, and the majority of the factories were situated along the banks of it. Numerous AA weapons littered the city, desperately trying to push back the Allied bomber squadron with little success. Sirens could be heard from Cipher's cockpit.

Foulke was right, there was little that the air superiority fighter pilots could do at this stage apart from occasionally strafe an AA gun or SAM here and there and watch the city burn.

"A tomahawk just hit the city…" P.J said in disbelief. "Are these guys_ serious?!"_

That was just the first. As he circled the burning industrial city, Cipher counted another four on his radar bearing down on targets throughout the city. Something clicked in the back of his mind. Hoffnung was Belkan for hope. The destruction of the city would mean the loss of all hope for the Belkans. Literally.

"This is unbelievable." Cipher muttered as he listened to the radio calls of the factories and soldiers down below... "The Allied Forces should know better than this."

"Put out that fire before it reaches our facilities!"

"What are you doing?! This isn't even a weapons factory!"

"Damn Allied Forces. Shoot them down! Come on! Come on!"

"Attention Allied fighters, our tank unit is advancing to sector two but some Belkan planes are giving us trouble." A tank commander said. "Take down those planes for us!"

"Galm Team roger, moving to intercept." Cipher growled. He banked hard, drawing sharp contrails in the dark sky as he turned back in the direction he had just come from, switching to his AIM-120 missiles. Foulke was on his tail, just keeping up with the angered Demon Lord. The pair of Belkan F-15E Strike Eagles appeared on his HUD, beginning an attack run and dropping guided bombs towards the Allied Forces tanks. Three were destroyed as Cipher engaged.

"Galm One, Fox Three!" Two AMRAAMs were sent towards the attacker aircraft, but only one connected with the target. He overshot the other at high speed, banking away as Foulke engaged a second later and dispatched the lone Strike Eagle with a sidewinder shot.

"Mercenaries? Well, we appreciate the help. We'll be moving on." The commander thanked them as they turned back towards the inferno.

"This is Crow Two, something strange is going on." Hicks sounded uncertain. "The number of burning areas just suddenly increased."

"Inform all units," A Belkan army commander said, sounding stressed and panicky. "This is an order from Operation HQ, abandon Hoffnung! However, don't retreat until all facilities are destroyed. Leave them nothing! That is all!"

"The Belkans are setting fire to their own factories..." Ryan observed.

The bombers were nearing the end of the city, leaving a trail of fire behind them. Factories, bridges, skyscrapers and houses burned. But soon, small pockets of flame and destruction appeared ahead of the bombers where the retreating army set fire to their own facilities.

"Burn down the entire city! Set fire to the buildings on your way out!"

"All facilities in the main sector have been destroyed! Damn those Allied Forces!"

"I can't pinpoint the enemy or allied positions, what am I supposed to do?!"

"Even Hoffnung is falling, what has become of our mighty air force?"

Cipher switched off his intercepted communications line, not wanting to listen to the desperate cries and orders from the retreating Belkan Army. He'd promised himself to see this war to the end, and to see Ustio victorious. Well right now, he was considering breaking that promise.

"The city's going up in flames!" P.J exclaimed.

"Learn to accept it kid, this is war." Foulke muttered as he formed up on Cipher's wing.

"You expect me to believe that arson and indiscriminate bombing is war?!"

"There's no mercy in war." Cipher replied. "It's a collision of powers."

"Even war has a set of rules to follow!"

Cipher sighed and gave up with the heated debate. Although he admitted to himself that the young pilot was right, and that the Allied Forces were wrong to send in the squadron of bombers to flatten the city. Nevertheless, he remained in formation with the bomber squadron as they poured fire into the burning city below.

"Belkan fighters on radar." The bomber lead reported. "Galm Team engage!"

"Galm Team roger." Cipher spied the incoming Belkan fighters on his own radar coming in pairs. "Six...no eight bandits on radar and closing fast. "Crow, Fenrir, you take the northern fighters. Galm Two and I can get the rest." The other pilots complied and the Galm Team broke off, climbing to meet the enemy planes. Cipher identified them as F/A-18 Hornet fighters, nothing they couldn't handle. "Galm Two, cleared to engage."

"Pixy roger." Foulke replied as he broke off to deal with another pair, leaving Cipher with the pair at his twelve.

"Galm One fox three!" His last two AMRAAM missiles detached from underneath his fuselage and cut through the air to intercept their targets. Again, only one was successful, with Cipher turning hard onto the surviving Hornet after overshooting it and shredding it with gunfire.

"This is Bussard Seven, I'm hit I'm hit!" the pilot cried before ejecting.

"Galm One splash two, Galm Two sitrep?" The Demon Lord asked his wingman.

"I can dodge this one…" Foulke answered as he pulled a high-g turn to evade a missile. Cipher engaged his afterburners to quickly head to within sidewinder range of the enemy Hornet where he fired and shot him down with one.

"I've detected an unknown craft on radar." AWACS Eagle Eye warned. Cipher had forgotten he was up there. "The blip is barely visible, it may be a stealth."

"Two o'clock high…" Cipher picked up two of the incoming craft coming head on. "F-35C Lightnings."

"Roger that, I'm engaging." Foulke swooped past him and began to dance with one of the fighters, leaving the other for Cipher who climbed and banked hard to get onto the tail of it. The single-engined stealth fighter was expecting the move, and in an attempt to shake him, dived. But Cipher was quick, and adjusted his flight path so he came out of the manoeuvre behind the jet and used his gun to send the delicate aircraft tumbling to the city below.

"They'll pay for what they've done to Belka…" A Belkan pilot growled.

Cipher visually confirmed that Foulke had successfully dealt with his F-35C target before searching for another. He knew the radar was useless against stealth aircraft unless they were firing missiles at something. And as if on cue, his missile warning system came to life, and in response he threw flares out the back of his plane and pulled a hard bank. Two AIM-9 Sidewinders passed through the space where he was just seconds ago, followed by the two Lightning fighters responsible for the shots.

"This is Crow Two, I've bagged a bandit!" Hicks whooped. Ignoring the other pilot, the Demon Lord continued his wide bank to return on his original heading before spying out the pair of Belkan planes banking together at his three o'clock, preparing to attack once more.

"I'll burn them to the ground!" Another Belkan F-35 pilot angrily muttered.

Cipher banked with Foulke on his wing and tried to get onto their tails. Their Eagles were more manoeuvrable than the Lightnings, enabling the mercenaries to quickly finish off the attackers with sidewinders.

"Mayday mayday!" A bomber cried. "I've taken a hit! Going down!"

"Release all bombs before you get shot down!" The bomber lead ordered.

Reluctantly, Cipher turned hard and rocketed off to come to the bomber squadron's aid. He swooped in behind another pair of F-35C Lightning II fighters and destroyed one with a Sidewinder, Foulke taking the second in a similar fashion.

"Crow One, status?" He called the other mercenary team to hear how they were doing.

"Skies are clear here." Ryan replied. "AWACS, how are we looking?"

"Galm Team, two more craft at your twelve o'clock low." Eagle Eye replied.

Cipher tilted his nose down and sure enough, two Belkan aircraft showed up on his HUD, flying in formation. Except these aircraft weren't fighters, but B-2A Spirit stealth bombers. Nevertheless, he engaged without mercy, firing an AIM-9 Sidewinder and 20mm cannon rounds into each of the planes, watching as they tumbled to the city below.

"Down all Belkan fighters." AWACS Eagle Eye confirmed.

"Ignore the civilians! Our priority is withdrawing the troops out of the area." A Belkan Army Commander ordered his men,

"Abandon Block D," Another spoke seconds later. "Join up with 5th Company from Block C."

"Don't leave anything behind for the Allied Forces!"

Two B-52 bombers from the Allied Forces continued to fly over the city as the others retreated. "Mission objective fulfilled. All units, return to base."

Cipher and Foulke banked away from the battle. But as they did, Cipher's jet flew low, skimming the tops of the skyscrapers as the city burned.

"Damn them all!" He muttered angrily before climbing with afterburners to catch up with Foulke.

* * *

"_Nobody knew why we were fighting anymore." Solo Wing Pixy explained after telling the story of the battle over Hoffnung. "All I felt at that point was sadness for the world. That's why I…"_


End file.
